Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Book Review: Tales of Mystery and Imagination

TALES
OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION: The origin of the most iconic horror elements and
detective fiction

Tales
of Mystery and Imagination is a collection of suspenseful and related stories
by Edgar Allan Poe -- a good collection at that. What makes it so is the fact
that these tales have actually penetrated popular culture that they come to the
point of defining the horror genre itself. In fact, when I read the stories, I
have instantly seen how they have inspired the modern and popular concept of
psychological horror, and all the sub-concepts it contains therein. Stories
like ‘William Wilson,’ ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ and ‘The Fall of the House of
Usher,’ are just perfect portrayals of abnormal psychological states, so it is
not very surprising that the concept of these three is still being exploited in
contemporary horror fiction. ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ ‘Premature Burial,’ and
‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’ are also not to be overlooked, for they also have
essentials that have marked themselves as iconic elements of the genre. To top
it all off, ‘The Gold Bug’, ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue,’ and ‘The Mystery
of Marie Roget,’ have been the obvious pioneers of detective fiction. ‘The Gold
Bug’ has popularized the concept of ciphers, while the other two’s main
protagonist, Auguste Dupin, has been Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspiration in Sherlock
Holmes. And if these will not be enough to consider Poe’s collection as a game
changer, then I don’t know what will.

The
concepts of the stories are very original for me, but I must admit that their
creativity feels to be held back by my familiarity of them, for they are so reiterated
in contemporary fiction. In fact, I have guessed the twists and turns of some
of the stories that it somehow diminishes my excitement in the unfolding of
events. However, when I come to think that these concepts have been conceived
in the 19th century, I still couldn’t help but consider them as a
work of a genius. Further proof of Edgar Allan Poe’s brilliance is his mastery
of language. He is able to exploit it in his lyrical style. But this mastery
proves to have a drawback. I find the author’s writing to be too complicated
that, sometimes, it loses the power of his stories. Even though I am used to
reading classics, I find myself repeating several passages of this book because
the prose is too sophisticated. I find it too hard to comprehend at one
reading. What makes it even harder is his incorporation of his poetic skills, meaning
that there are many things between the lines. This makes Tales of Mystery and Imagination
a very tiring read -- fun nonetheless.

What
makes the book a fun read, quite paradoxically, is the author’s voice. Even
though it is overly complicated, it possesses an atmosphere of desperation and
other negative feelings that it is sufficient to keep me reading forward. Edgar
Allan Poe has so much negativity incorporated in his tales; hardly anything is cathartic!
Most of them depict the extreme anxiety and misery of the characters and end in
the same way -- they don’t conclude in a manner that will give me a feeling of
relief.

As
for the detective stories, they are written with the same complicated prose.
But the voice, instead of possessing desperation, has very apparent
intelligence suited for stories that involve deductive reasoning. The stories
themselves are also worth noting, for the mysteries behind them are complicated
enough to be immune to premature deciphering. Aside from that, hints are also
scattered all throughout, meaning that the mysteries behind them are planned
out and not just pulled out of the author’s mind without much thinking.

These
factors that I have enumerated from the beginning, when all put together, are
the reasons why Edgar Allan Poe is a timeless author, and Tales of Mystery and
Imagination a timeless work. They have continued to fascinate readers with their
macabre and detective tales. I’m actually disappointed that I have already read
most of Poe’s tales, for I want more of them. However, I won’t be redirecting
my attention towards his poems, because I’m not a fan of that literary faculty.
Perhaps I have no choice but to enjoy the re-reading value of his stories.

About The Author

You can call me Arvin Saints, but that is not my real name. I use that name in all my legitimate social media accounts. It’s not that I don’t want to directly associate myself to the cyber world. The name is simply an inside joke among my compatriots.